Introduction

When Barb Barrett walks out on her loveless marriage, she doesn’t realize she will lose everything: her home, her financial security, even her beloved children. Approaching forty with her life in shambles and no family or friends to turn to, Barb must now discover what it means to rely on herself in a stark new emotional landscape.

With only a questionable business plan in hand, Barb is determined to reinvent herself. She moves into a house once occupied by the literary genius Vladimir Nabokov, author of the notorious Lolita. She discovers what could be Nabokov’s last unpublished manuscript and from there begins a personal journey that is deliciously romantic, darkly comic, and wise.

Written in elegant prose and illuminated by sharp humor and wit, Cleaning Nabokov’s House offers a new vision of modern love and a reminder that it is never too late to find loyalty to our truest selves.

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Discussion Questions

1. Discuss the two characters who mean the most to Barb: Sam and Darcy. What are some signs that the children are coping with difficulty following their parents’ divorce? What do their collections—Sam’s cookbooks and Darcy’s purses—reveal about their personalities?

2. According to Barb, “Presentation was my worst talent after marriage.” Track Barb’s success in life according to her wardrobe. When do the Pants get her through some tough times? Do you think the people Barb meets in Onkwedo and New York City judge her outfits as much as she fears? Why or why not?

3. One of the main themes of the book is loss and loneliness. Barb is grieving for two family members, her father and her cousin. What kind of example did each of these men set? What inspiration is she able to draw from her memories of them?

4. As Barb opens the cathouse, she thinks, “I decided I was not selling sex; I was selling a fifty minute full-control vacation from your life as you knew it.” It’s obviously fiction, but how far-fetched is the idea of a cathouse? Is Barb offering women an escape, an empowering alternative to their unsatisfying lives, or is she turning the tables on men, objectifying them the way women are objectified?

5. Cooking plays a large role in Barb’s life. What do we learn about Barb’s character through her cooking and eating habits? Which of her many “breakfast identities” do you think suits her personality best?

6. On her fortieth birthday Barb resolves, “I might not have a plan, but I had to act and act fast.” How does this birthday serve as a turning point for Barb? What finally inspires Barb to act: to spend her earnings, furnish her kids’ rooms, hire a lawyer, and return to court?

7. Vladimir and Vera Nabokov are long gone when Barb moves into their house. Even though Barb never meets these characters, how does their imagined presence in the house affect her? What does Barb discover about life and writing through her exploration of Nabokov’s work?

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